It's Not Over
by mrsmcdreamy29
Summary: Takes place 3 years after 'Into You Like A Train'. Derek leaves with Addison after choosing her and moves back to New York. What happens when Mer comes face to face with him when her and Alex are sent to New York for a work assignment?
1. Chapter 1

Meredith Grey stood at the Nurses Station on the Surgical Floor at Seattle Grace Hospital almost oblivious to the looks cast at her as people walked by. She was well used to those 4 years into her residency at this hospital. She vaguely wondered what the gossip was this time. She wasn't sleeping with anyone…right now anyway, she hadn't killed anyone, no drunken displays at Joe's in a while. Oh well, let the vultures circle she thought. Unbeknownst to her, there was no gossip spreading about her. People were just taken aback when they saw her. They took one look at her slim figure, dirty blond hair that curled down her back, her beautiful gray-green eyes that showed all of her emotions, her porcelain skin and her full pink lips and they were spellbound. She had the kind of interesting beauty that made people do a double take and was not obvious until they stared for awhile.

_Beep, beep, beep_

She groaned. What now? She had ten minutes left on her 24 hour shift. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She looked at the offending pager. The Chief? She groaned again.

Richard Webber. One of the many banes of her existence. He had helped ruin her childhood and he had hired 'he who shall not be mentioned' and had called 'he who shall not be mentioned's' secret wife, who had drug him away from Seattle as soon as he had picked her. Yes, Meredith had problems with Richard Webber but strived to maintain a professional attitude with him. That worked by avoiding him as much as possible. Easier now that Ellis Grey had passed of a massive coronary last year. She finished her notes and strode towards his office. When she arrived she noticed her good friend Alex Karev there, leaning against the wall outside of the Chief's domain.

"Hey, you look like shit." He greeted her.

"Thanks." She responded dryly not bothering to fight the tired smile that spread across her face. He was her male Cristina.

"You were paged too?" He asked.

"Yep. I wonder what he wants."

"Don't know. Haven't killed anyone, you?"

"Not yet today, you?" She asked.

"Nope."

They fell into an easy silence until Patricia said that Dr. Webber was ready for them. They entered and had a seat waiting for him to speak.

"As you well know, Seattle Grace is one of the foremost teaching hospitals on the West Coast. And you know that Mount Sinai is one of foremost teaching hospitals on the East Coast. What you don't know is that effective next week, we will do a crossover of sorts. Two fourth year residents from here and two from there will be trading places for 3 months to have the opportunity to observe different teaching styles. I have picked you two."

Alex and Meredith shared a confused glance. Why them?

"Why you? Because you are two of my best residents. You have also picked two of the specialties that are involved…Gynecology and Neurosurgery. You leave Saturday and will be put into an apartment that the hospital uses for visiting doctors. It is a two bedroom apartment and as you already live together, I didn't figure it would be a problem to share."

"No." They said simultaneously.

"Great. Here are your information packets. I don't know who you will be working under, but whatever you do…make me proud. Any questions?"

They both shook their heads.

"Great. That is all." The Chief said dismissing them.

Alex and Meredith exited his office. Meredith was grumbling underneath her breath.

"It's not that bad, is it? I am no Cristina, but…"

"No. I'm okay going with you to New York. I just wonder, why couldn't he pick someone else. He just can't leave me alone."

"Think of it this way…you won't have to see him for three months."

"You have a point. Oh God, is the world ending?" Meredith joked.

"Bitch."

"Gigolo."

"Whore."

"Syph Boy."

"Not cool Grey. That is hitting below the belt."

"Keep it up and I will hit you below the belt."

Alex laughed. He felt an incredible bond with Meredith. They were mirror images of one another.

"I have another two hours of my shift. I'll see ya later."

"I will be there and I will be sleeping, so if you pick up one of your skanks, keep it down, will ya?"

"I will abstain tonight, just for you."

Meredith rolled her eyes.

"You slept with a nurse today didn't you?" She accused him.

"Eh, it's the other white meat."

"Go away Alex." Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Bye Mer." He patted her head patronizingly and ducked when she swiped at him. " You are so fiesty." 

Alex ran away from her wrath and Meredith laughed and headed home for some much needed sleep before her day started all over again. 


	2. Chapter 2

D Day had arrived…Departure day. It was Saturday morning and the house was in a frenzy…well Izzie was in a frenzy, but what else was new? She was rushing around making sure Alex and Mer both had everything…'Alex, do you have enough underwear and socks?', Mer, did you pack your tampons'? Finally it was time to leave and Alex and Meredith couldn't have been more ready by that point. They declined Izzie's offer to take them to the airport, cause they would have needed a lobotomy before they got there. The cab was just fine, Izzie was assured by both of them. The three months now seemed really more like a vacation and less like work. They got to ticket counter and were led to a private jet.

"Wow…so this how the other half lives." Alex said.

"Yep." She had traveled this way some growing up with 'The Great' Ellis Grey when she deemed to remember she had a daughter that couldn't always be left alone…at 8 years old. They got situated and settled into comfortable silence. This is what she liked most about Alex. He didn't feel the need to fill every moment with inane chatter, for which she was grateful. If she had been with Izzie, she would have felt the need to go skydiving…without a parachute. She loved Iz, she did, but the girl was way to happy to be normal. She felt her eyes grow heavy halfway into the flight and decided to have a nap to pass the time more quickly.

She was awoke by Alex gently shaking her shoulder. She realized she had been sleeping on his shoulder. She was embarrassed to see the drool stain on his shirt. She blushed and looked at Alex.

"I'm sorry. Oh god, how humiliating."

"No problem. The drool was quiet at least, just wet. Your snoring however…"

She shoved at his shoulder.

"Shut up Evil Spawn. I do not snore." She hissed.

"I hate to break it to ya Mer, but yes you do…loudly. Your screaming orgasms have nothing on the loud sawing of wood that exits out of your mouth every time you breathe. I almost plugged your nose."

"Hmmpf." Meredith crossed her arms and pointedly ignored him for the rest of the flight.

**************************

"This place isn't half bad." Alex said walking into their new digs for the next 3 months.

"It's okay. Kind of generic. No personality." She said referring to the drab beige walls and nondescript furnishings.

"Mer it is an apartment, not a person. It has a couch, a chair, a kitchen table, a TV, two beds and dressers and a bathroom. What more do you need?"

"You forgot to mention the stove."

"No I didn't forget it. You are not allowed to touch that thing. It will get no use at all. Do I have to remind you of the spaghetti incident?"

"That wasn't technically my fault." She said sheepishly.

"Mer, you caused a fire boiling water…water. The directions said to boil the water for 10- 15 minutes before adding the noodles, not to let the water boil out until it was empty and then add the noodles."

"I told you I missed that part of the directions and it was 2 years ago. Are you ever going to let me forget it?"

"Hmmm…let me think…no." He dodged narrowly missing the shoe that she hurled at him.

"Temper, temper Mer. You must learn to control that."

"Eat me."

"Now there's an idea." Alex smirked.

"Whatever, I am going to go unpack." Meredith grabbed her bags and lugged them to her room.

Alex watched her go. Meredith was definitely something. What, he didn't know. She had the ability to see through his shit and to keep him in line. She had encouraged him to go after Gynecology instead of Plastics when he discovered he really liked it. He had been really embarrassed about his change of heart, but she had told him he would be wasting his talents in Plastics. She saw the compassion that he kept a tight reign on. It made him feel weak and he had felt that enough in his own childhood just as she had. She was infinitely kind, even when the world kept kicking her down. Shepherd had ground her heart into hamburger meat and she had never been the same since. But she still had not lost her compassionate and insightful nature as was proven when his apartment had been condemned. His mind wandered back to that fateful conversation 2 years ago.

_He was sleeping which he was thankful for, 20 hours into his 36 hour shift. He was under an impossible amount of stress. His apartment had been condemned effective immediately two days ago and he had been living out of his car and the hospital. All of his worldly belongings stuffed into 3 boxes. How sad. He really didn't have the money to get a hotel room indefinitely, he still had an exorbitant amount of student loans to pay back. Housing was a nightmare in Seattle and he didn't have a whole lot of options. But right now he was sleeping. He jackknifed up in bed as the door slammed open and hit the wall. Standing before him was a very pissed off Meredith Grey. His eyes widened as she glared at him. She walked up and punched him in the arm. Hard._

"_Ouch! What the fuck was that for?"_

"_That is for you living out of your car. What the hell are you doing?"_

"_Oh, nothing just in between apartments. I had to get out of my old one and my new one won't be ready until Friday." He lied._

_Her eyes narrowed at him. He winced. She always had the ability to see right through him and he could tell today was not an exception._

"_Bullshit. I was not born yesterday. You are homeless Alex."_

"_It is not a big deal. It's not the first time."_

"_Well it will be the last…you are moving in with me."_

"_George and Izzie live with you in a three bedroom house and unless you have made O'Malley's dreams come true and he is now sharing your bed, you have no room for someone else." He pointed out._

"_I will make room for my family. And you Alex, whether you like it or not, are part of my family. I will make the den into a bedroom. We will make it work. Besides, George and Izzie are driving me crazy. They are too…happy. Ugh. I need someone to be dark and twisty…like me."_

_Alex started to protest and Meredith put up a hand to stop him._

"_Please. You helped me when…well you know." She said sadly her eyes looking at the floor._

"_How did I help you?"_

"_By not babying me like Izzie and George. You and Cristina just told me to shake it off and keep going. So it is my turn to help you. I wont take no for an answer. Rent is due at the first of the month. There is no need for you to pay a deposit. Use it to buy a bed. Here is your house key. " Her hand held out the silver item and he hesitated until he looked at her determined face. He reluctantly took it from her. She got up and walked to the door._

"_Thanks Grey." He said sincerely._

"_Anytime Karev." She smiled and was out the door._

Alex shook himself out of the memory. He had half a mind to fall in love with her, but knew that she didn't have a heart to give him. _He_ still had it. After over 3 long years, she still had not completely healed. She got back to living after a few months of crying, vomiting tequila and unneeded weight loss. But her eyes still held a note of sadness there that hurt all of her friends to see. But she had survived, a little more wiser, a little stronger, she always said. He took a deep breath and went to go unpack.


	3. Chapter 3

"You ready Alex?" Meredith yelled.

"Yeah. Let's go."

It was their first day as interim residents at Mount Sinai. They would each have their own interns and would be working under the so far nameless hotshot attendings. They would each be working in their respective specialities. This was apparently a wonderful opportunity and Cristina was green with envy that Alex and Mer were participating and she wasn't. But then again Cristina didn't like being left out of anything. That was Cristina for you, 4th year resident cardio god and resident kiss ass at Seattle Grace.

The walk took five minutes and Meredith took a deep breath before entering. She looked at Alex.

"Here we go."

They went directly to the 3rd floor as directed by the oh so helpful receptionist at the entrance who couldn't stop popping her gum long enough to form a cognitive sentence. Thank god for the map directly at her left. Alex had liked her. What a surprise, Meredith thought dryly. They were then led by a nurse to the chief's office. His head came up from his paperwork and indicated for them to come in and have a seat.

"Hello. I am Dr. Bernard Gregory and I am the Chief of Surgery at Mount Sinai. Please come in and sit down so we can get acquainted. You are Alex Karev and you must be Meredith Grey. I have to admit that I am very excited to meet you Dr. Grey. You mom was a wonderful doctor of legendary proportions and I am eager to find out just how much she passed down to you genetically other than your looks…"

Meredith rolled her eyes as the chief went on and on. Was this guy serious? And was he trying to hit on her? Alex bit back a smile at her expression. He wondered if maybe he needed to leave the room since he was obviously being ignored as _Bernie _here fawned over Mer. He understood, he really did. Mer was gorgeous but this guy was like…old. Did he really think he had a shot?

"…so that being said, do you have any questions?" The chief concluded not realizing that his audience had tuned him out.

"No, thank you Dr. Gregory. You have been most helpful." Mer said sweetly. They got up to exit the office and waited until they were a safe distance away before bursting into raucous laughter. People walked by giving these two obviously crazy individuals a wide berth. It took them a moment to recover and then they went into the locker room to change into their scrubs.

*********************

"I miss my blue scrubs." Mer grumbled about her jade green scrubs as they headed out to find their interns and, hopefully, their new bosses.

"What does it matter? Besides, they could be pink." Alex reminded her.

"Ew…yeah you are right. It could be so much worse." She shuddered.

Alex laughed at that. He couldn't imagine Mer in pink. It was too bright and happy, more Izzie than Mer.

They arrived at the Attending's lounge and knocked.

"What?" The voice demanded roughly.

Mer and Alex looked at each other. Okay.

"We are looking for the Neuro and Gynie attendings." Alex said.

The door wrenched open and revealed a man. Tall in stature, well built, very good looking, with short somewhat wavy blonde hair mixed with gray wearing dark green scrubs. His expression was hard until he noticed Mer, then it turned smug and almost feral. Like he was looking for his next meal and had found it in her.

"Well hello there. I don't think we have met." He said to Mer ignoring Alex completely. 'Big surprise' he thought.

"Obviously, seeing as it is my first time to enter this hospital in the last oh 20 years." Mer said sarcastically.

"Ooh…fiesty. I like that in my women."

"Ooh…arrogant. I hate that in my men."

"Mark Sloan." He grinned as he extended his hand to her. She ignored it and instead looked at it pointedly.

"Are you the Neuro or Gynie Attending?" She asked.

"God no. I am the Plastics God around here."

Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Then I could care less about meeting you. You can however let us know who the Neuro and Gynie attendings are and where we can find them."

"I would love to tell you over lunch."

"Look, I am about to run out of patience here. Do you know where they are or not?" She said impatiently as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Are you married? Is that it?"

"Is what it?"

"Well women don't ignore me, ever, so are you married?"

"No."

"Oh, you are a lesbian then! That's cool. I am down with the rainbow. If you are ever interested in a threesome I am happy to oblige. I am not only a god in Plastics." He said suggestively winking at her.

"I think I just vomited a little in my mouth. You know what, never mind." She turned to leave.

"Wait." He sighed. "They are not here yet. Some meeting with a lawyer or so I heard. We really don't talk anymore. They will be in around 10 am."

"Thank you." Mer said stiffly.

"Again, I am Dr. Mark Sloan. And you are?"

"Not married, not a lesbian, not interested in becoming another notch on your obviously overcrowded bedpost."

Alex laughed. Mark turned and glared at him. Alex just shrugged. Meredith turned to look at Alex.

"Come on. Let's go hunt down our interns to see how utterly useless they are." She turned on her heel and Alex laughed again at the look on Dr. Macho's face and followed her down the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

_Derek Shepherd looked impatiently at his $3,000.00 Rolex watch. Great, they were late. Just perfect, he thought._

_Addison sighed. She knew better than to say anything. His mood was volatile at best. He wasn't abusive, mentally or physically, he just was always in a terse mood. It had been that way for 3 years now… since she had persuaded him to leave Seattle and return to New York to give their marriage a real shot. Seeing as they had just come from their divorce lawyer, that hadn't worked out so well. He had tried…they both had, but their marriage was beyond repair. It was her fault. She had cheated first…with his best friend…who they worked with as attendings here at Mount Sinai. That was oh so much fun. None of them would talk to the other unless it was about work. Not that Derek cared. He didn't care about anything anymore. He was still one of the best neurosurgeons in the world, but he wasn't himself, like when he smiled it didn't reach his eyes. If she was to be completely honest with herself, it hadn't since he left Seattle…since he left her. The tiny blond that haunted his subconscious. They had decided to throw in the towel around six months ago. The divorce would be finalized next week. It had been drug out for some unforeseen reasons such as property. She was fighting to let him have his fair share because he obviously didn't care if he lived in a dark alley. He refused everything. He just wanted out. So she had given in, but refused alimony. In time, she really hoped they could be friends. That was what she missed more than anything…her friend. He was unhappy and she hated that. She knew it was partly her fault. She just didn't think it possible for him to love someone that much that he had only known for a couple of months. She sighed again._

"_What's wrong?" He said curtly not looking up from his Blackberry._

"_I miss my friend…I miss the Derek you used to be." She said simply._

"_Well, I miss…" He cut off his sentence, took a deep breath and started again. "I'm sorry Addie. I don't mean to be…indifferent or insensitive. I will try to be more…personable." He tried to smile but it failed halfway through. His eyes revealed his agony. He blinked and suddenly his eyes changed showing his normal blank expression. _

_She looked at him. He was so handsome. He was 42 years old and in great shape. His hair was still as plentiful as ever, dark with gray streaks starting as his temples. He still had the crooked nose that she thought always made him that much more rugged. His smile was her favorite part of his looks, but she hadn't seen a genuine one in…forever. Her favorite part of his personality was also gone. The teasing and natural charm that could have any woman melt into a puddle at his feet…gone. _

"_We have a meeting with our interim residents that we are now five minutes late for. Do you know where they are from?" He asked breaking her out of her reverie. _

"_Oh…somewhere from the West Coast, I think." She responded listlessly._

_The elevator arrived on their floor and they headed towards the conference room to meet their new residents._

_*************************************_

"_Alex, put that back!" Mer demanded as Alex took an award off of the wall. _

"_Yes, mommy." He returned as he came to sit by her with their backs facing the door._

"_Well, the interns are not that bad." Mer said._

"_Okay, one of mine actually asked me what placenta previa was. He is on rectals today." Alex smiled devilishly._

"_Alex, what am I going to do with you?"_

"_I can think of several things." He said waggling his eyebrows. The door opened._

"_Good, you're here. We didn't want to have to chase you down." The annoyed masculine voice said._

_Meredith stiffened. Her breathing became slightly shallow. Alex looked at her in concern, the new attendings forgotten. _

"_Mer? What is wrong?" He whispered._

"_Derek, really. You said you would work on being personable." Addison admonished. _

"_I meant with you." He said._

_Alex straightened up. Oh. My. God. It was __him. _The man who had single handedly ripped out Mer's heart and stomped on it a few times for good measure. His blood began to boil. Then he calmed down. Mer. He had to concentrate on Mer. He wouldn't let her fall apart. Not in front of this jerk. He leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear.

"Get it together. Don't let him see what he has done to you. Suck it up Grey. Just follow my lead. I will take care of you, okay?"

Mer looked at Alex and nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out. Her eyes closed and then opened leaving a blank expression in them.

"Hello? Can you speak?" Derek said impatiently.

Alex stood up and turned to face them. Derek's eyes widened in recognition.

"Alex?" He gasped.

"It is Dr. Karev." Alex said tersely. Addison looked between the two. What the hell? This guy looked familiar but she couldn't for the life of her figure out where she knew him. This Dr. Karev looked like he wanted to commit premeditated homicide on Derek.

"What is going on?" She finally asked when no one spoke.

"Hello again, Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd." Alex said to her emphasizing Shepherd distastefully as if he couldn't bear for the word to leave his lips.

"Have we met?" She asked confused and quite frankly a little scared.

"Oh, so you forget people easily, do you? Well, that is okay. The only reason I remember you is because I hate you so much."

Addison gasped. She looked at Derek who had seemed to forget he was still present in the room. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply as if he smelled something pleasant. 

"Stop it, Alex." A soft but clear voice rang out in the infinite quiet of the room as Meredith stood up and decided to make herself known.

Addison went completely still. It couldn't be…after all this time, she stood face to face with the woman in her husband's dreams and her nightmares. Time had not touched her. She was still interestingly beautiful as when Addison had first met her. The only difference was her eyes were dead, just like Derek's. 

"Meredith?" Derek asked disbelievingly. She was standing in front of him, just as beautiful as the day he met her. He smiled…for the first time in 3 long years…he really smiled. 

"Dr. Shepherd." She said stiffly. She would not break, she would not break, she said over and over in her head. She would not let him see the damage he had inflicted. She wouldn't give either of them the satisfaction in knowing they had broken her.

"How have you been?" He asked, everyone else in the room disappearing. Only he and she remained. She had been an angel in his dreams for so long. Was she really here or did seeing Alex conjure her up in his mind?

"Fine."

"What is your specialty? You are a fourth year, right? How long are you here for?" His brain exploded with all the questions he had for her.

"You know what? We don't have to do the thing." She said.

"We can do anything you want." He smirked remembering this particular conversation.

"This…the reminiscing, pretending you care about me bullshit. I am Neuro, which I take to mean that I have to work with your sorry ass. Lucky me. So can we just get this over with so I can leave…please."

Alex looked at Mer. Maybe she didn't need backup after all. However, he just saw a golden opportunity to make Derek suffer.

"Mer, honey…calm down. I don't want my girl getting upset." He said meaningfully to her. He took her hand in his and caressed it softly. She got it instantly, thank god, or he would looked like an idiot.

"I know. I'm sorry Alex. Thank god I have you here to keep my temper in check." She said sweetly thanking him with her eyes.

"You two are…together?" Derek asked, painfully awaiting the answer he knew was coming.

"Yeah, for what…three years now Mer?" Alex said as he looked at Mer adoringly.

"Oh…um…more like two and a half. Honey." She said awkwardly.

"Two and a half blissful years together. I guess I shouldn't be mad at you. Your leaving gave me the perfect opportunity to get right in there. So thank you…really from the bottom of my heart. So, how have you two been?" Alex asked.

"We are getting divorced." Addison spoke up. She watched Meredith's face closely for her reaction. Other than a little twitch, nothing. Alex however winced as her grip became lethal. 

"Oh, really? I am so sor…you know what I cant even finish that sentence. It's not nice to lie." Meredith said breezily.

Addison looked at Derek, but he was no help. He just looked at Meredith like someone told him he could have ten million dollars and then yanked it out of his sight as soon as he reached for it.

"Okay. If Mer…Dr. Grey is Neuro that means that you, Dr. Karev, are Gynecology and Obstetrics. We all have patients to see, so we had better get on with it."

"I am not leaving her alone with your husband…oh excuse me, ex-husband."

"Alex, I will be fine. Go with Dr. Montgomery-Shep…Dr. Montgomery and I will go with…him and I will see you at home. Okay?"

"Okay, but if he tries anything…"

"I will take care of it."

"Alright." Alex said agreeing.

Meredith looked at Derek and sighed.

"Let's go." She walked to the door and got halfway into the hall.

"What? No kiss." Meredith stopped as she heard Alex. He couldn't be serious. She turned around and walked back to Alex and leaned up to kiss his cheek. He smiled at her wickedly.

"You have to be more convincing than that..." He whispered. 

He ran his fingers through her silken strands and leaned down and took her lips with his. He left no part of her mouth untouched. She felt that kiss down to her toes. He let her go and she had to grab on to him for support. 

Addison just gaped and Derek had to turn around…either that or vomit at the sight of someone kissing his Meredith. 

"Now, you have a good day babe and I will see you at home." Alex said to a recovering Mer. Then he looked at Derek, who had turned back around.

"Sorry, I just had to mark my territory and that was much more fun than pissing on her."

Meredith jabbed her elbow into his side. He winced. Damn she had some bony elbows.

"Behave." She hissed. She walked back to the door and with her head held up and her cheeks a fiery red, she looked at Derek.

"Well, are you ready?"

"Yeah." He said miserably. They left with him leading the way.

Alex turned to look at Addison who looked as she had aged in the past 15 minutes. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"So…are you ready or not?"

"Oh…yeah, let's go." She said forcing a smile. She led Alex out of the room and decided to focus on work. That was all she had now anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Derek walked beside Meredith stealing glances every few seconds as if she would disappear into thin air. The day had been tense and now they were headed home…separately of course. He just had so much to say to her, but if her clenched jaw and icy expression were anything to go by, she was not in any mood to listen to him. But he had to try.

"Mer…" He started.

"Do not finish that sentence. If you value your life at all, you will keep your mouth shut." She said slowly, her voice full of venom.

They entered into the elevator and to her chagrin it was empty. New York City of all places and no one felt the need to use the damn elevator? She stood as far away from him as possible. On one hand, she was afraid she would kill him and on the other, she was afraid she would jump into his arms. His presence unnerved her. He was still as gorgeous as ever, slightly older. He was what 42 now? It looked good on him. He looked different though…oh wait, it had to be the overpriced three piece designer suit. Her Derek didn't like suits. He dressed more casual. But he was gone and he had been for three years, she reminded herself. This was not her Derek, this was some expensive version of her Derek and it would serve her best to remember that. She already didn't have her heart, she couldn't let him have her soul too. Loving him had come with a price. A very high price. She wasn't willing to pay it again.

Derek stood on the other side of the elevator with his eyes closed. She smelled the same. When he walked into that conference room, her scent had billowed around him. He thought he was going crazy for a moment. Seeing Alex had stunned him. His hatred was palpable. Because Derek had hurt _his _girlfriend. He cringed. She was Alex's now. Not his. The pain was crippling. He was having a hard time breathing he realized as he concentrated on breathing in and out in a slow and easy pattern. He had spent the last three years trying to tell himself he had made the right decision by letting her go, that what he had felt for her was only lust. It was impossible to fall in love with someone after only two months. It was impossible to find your soulmate in a one night stand. He had told himself that the agony he was feeling was because Addie had betrayed him. That it wasn't Meredith that had him twisted up in knots. It had taken one second of seeing her again to realize she was the reason for the agony. And now he was too late. She had moved on, rightfully so.

The elevator opened and Dr. Gregory stepped in. He stood between the two doctors and felt the overwhelming tension. He looked back and forth between them wondering what was up with them.

"Did something happen that I need to know about?" He asked.

"No." They said simultaneously as they both shook their heads. He thought for a minute. They were acting like they were mad at each other. They had only known each other for seven hours. He knew Derek wasn't the friendliest person but he was sure that Meredith had plenty of practice handling difficult people if her mother had been any indication. Another though occurred to him.

"Do you two know each other? I mean before today?"

The elevator doors slid open. Meredith turned and looked at Dr. Gregory and then at Derek. She took in his overly expensive clothes and thought back on his demeanor with their patients and with the staff today. He had been downright rude to just about everyone.

"No sir. I can honestly say I have never met _this_ man before." She exited the elevator and disappeared into the sea of people leaving for the day.

Derek banged his head against the elevator wall for a moment unaware of the looks his chief was giving him. How the hell was he going to get through this?

**********************

"Alex?" Mer called out as she entered the apartment.

"Hey. Nice to see you made it out in one piece." Alex said leaning in his bedroom doorway.

"Don't be so sure about that." She whispered her voice breaking.

Alex crossed over to her and led her to her bed. He laid down beside her and wrapped his arms around her shaking body and held her as she sobbed.

"Shhhh…just let it all out. It is going to be fine. I promise." He crooned to her.

After about thirty minutes, she looked up at him, embarrassed.

"I am so sorry. This is the second time I have gotten your shirt wet in as many days."

"Don't worry about it." He said looking at her concerned.

"I'm okay." She assured him.

"You're okay." He swept her hair out of her face and smiled at her.

"Alex.." She hesitated.

"Yeah?"

"You kissed me…"

Alex laughed. Leave it to Mer to bring that up.

"Mer…I…yes I kissed you. Do you want me to apologize? I thought I was helping you save face. That and I really hate that guy for what he did to you."

"No it's okay. I just…you are like my brother. And it was a good kiss. I liked it and now I feel…weird."

"Mer, I am sorry if you felt uncomfortable…"

"No! I was just wondering if it wasn't too weird for you, maybe you could do it again."

"What? Mer, I don't think that is a good idea."

"I don't want to date you Alex…I just want him to think that we are dating."

"He already thinks that Mer." Alex pointed out.

"I know…I want him to keep on thinking it for the duration of the three months. I need you to be my…my…" She stopped as she searched for the appropriate term.

"Shield. You want me to be your shield."

"Yeah." She whispered.

"Sure. I would do just about anything for you Grey. You know that."

"Thank you Alex." She breathed, as the tears started coming again.

He held her until she fell asleep and then covered her up, placing a tender kiss on her forehead. He then shut her door and grabbed his phone, quickly dialing the familiar number. The person answered after the second ring.

"Yang, we have a problem."

________________________________________


	6. Chapter 6

Derek stood at the window of his Manhattan high rise apartment and stared at the busy city below. Not that he really noticed it, he was too lost in thought. He was still wearing his suit though the jacket and tie had been off the instant he walked in the door. He was nursing a glass of scotch although he would've loved to drain the whole bottle. He had done that several times when he first arrived back in New York thinking that if he couldn't form a coherent thought then he couldn't think of her. Instead, she was there, always there at the bottom of the damn bottle. She was in his dreams, his nightmares. She was every faceless person on the busy New York City streets. She was everywhere he looked, she was all he saw. He couldn't escape it and after a while he didn't want to. He figured he deserved the agonizing pain that went with breathing in and out everyday without her. And now she was here. He was so lost in his musings, he didn't hear the door open.

"Derek! Derek?" Carolyn Shepherd called out as she entered his apartment. "Oh, there you are. You stood me up. Did you forget about our dinner tonight?"

Silence.

"Derek? What's wrong"

He looked sideways at her but didn't know what to say. His mother had the uncanny ability of always knowing when something was up with one of her five children. She walked up to him and placed her hand gently on his arm.

"Derek?"

"She's here. She's in New York, Ma."

"Who is…oh." She said, comprehension dawning in her eyes.

"Yeah, oh."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I have spent the last three years with her in my head. Believe me, it was her. She is here for work for a few months. She is specializing in Neurosurgery. Funny, huh?"

"What did she say?"

"Nothing. She had very little to say to me. She was angry."

"Well, what did you expect Der? You lied to her and then you left her. Did you expect her to fall into your arms and then lead you into the sunset?"

"I don't know what I expected to tell you the truth. All these years, I have kept her in my subconscious but never once did I actually imagine what she would be doing now. I always imagined her in the past tense, when she was with me. I have relived every moment, every kiss, every touch of those two months but I never imagined her moving on."

"Again, what did you expect? For her to stop living and to pine after you?"

"No, but six months? She moved on after six months…with him…Evil Spawn." He spat.

"Who?"

"His name is Alex Karev and he is a doctor. Gynecology. He is working with Addie."

"He's here too."

"Yeah and he hates my guts. He kissed her right in front of me. 'Marking his territory' he said. As if he owns her…like he owns my Meredith."

"Are you listening to yourself…your Meredith. She is not yours Derek. She hasn't been yours since you picked Addie over her and then disappeared without so much as a goodbye. That is your fault for dragging an innocent woman into your mess and then deceiving her."

"I know Ma. Don't you think I know that. That I messed up. That I made the wrong decision. I could be happy right now. I just thought a clean break would be best for both of us. Instead I am miserable and angry. I am in love with a woman that I can never get back because it is too late. Apparently two and a half years too late. What am I going to do Ma? I have to be near her but not touch her or talk to her, personally, for three months. It was torture today. She smells the same and she looks the same, but she isn't the same."

"How so?"

"Her eyes are dead."

"Like yours." Carolyn whispered.

"What?"

"Your eyes…there is no emotion there ninety-five percent of the time and when there is, it is too painful to look at them. I was worried you would hurt yourself for the first six months after you came back. I wanted you to leave and to go back to Seattle because when you called me from there, you sounded so happy and carefree."

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I just thought that maybe you were right making things work with Addie. You know how I feel about divorce, but I am glad that you two are getting one. I love Addie, but she obviously wasn't for you. Maybe after she leaves, Meredith I mean, you can get away. Get some perspective. Please try for me?"

"Okay Ma. I am so sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." He pulled her into a tight hug which she reciprocated.

Carolyn moved away from him and turned to leave. She stopped dead in her tracks as an idea occurred to her.

"Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Fight."

"What?'

"Fight for her. You have three months, right? Show her how you feel. Make her forgive you. Steal her away from this 'Evil Spawn'. What have you got to lose? And if it doesn't work, then you know you have tried everything in your power and then maybe you can get closure. But Derek if it works…"

"I can be happy…we can be happy…together."

"You can be happy."

She left him to his thoughts. He turned back to the window this time seeing things clearly. Fight. The question was…How hard would she fight against him?


	7. Chapter 7

**It has also been a long time since I updated this. I changed computers and these are no longer saved in my archives so I had to go and copy and paste from my home site. Enjoy!**

Alex was already up and reading the newspaper the next morning eating a bowl of cereal when Meredith wake up. He heard her rustling around in her room getting ready for the day. He had a plan of action put together, thanks to input from Cristina.

_"Yang, we have a problem."_

_"Are you dying?"_

_"No."_

_"Then I am hanging up."_

_"Cristina, it's Mer."_

_"What's wrong?" Cristina's tone changed instantly from cocky to concerned._

_"We met our new attendings today."_

_"And?"_

_"It's them." _

_Cristina knew exactly who he was referring to._

_"Oh God. No. How is she?"_

_"How do you think she is? She is a basket case. She handled him really well but she broke down as soon as she walked in the apartment. What are we going to do? I don't want all of her progress to mean nothing."_

_"I…don't…know…I…shit! I want to kill him."_

_"Yeah, well he wants to kill me."_

_"Why?""He sort of thinks me and Mer are a couple."_

_"Why does he think that?"_

_"I sort of told him we were a couple. And I kissed her…in front of him. You should have seen his face. Priceless." Alex grinned thinking of it._

_"And you are still breathing? I would've thought Mer would have killed you."_

_"No, she went along with it and she wants to keep up the ruse."_

_"You know that is not a bad idea. It could work. I personally gag at the thought of you two kissing but I guess as long as I don't have to see it…"_

_"Thanks Yang. She liked it." He said smugly._

_"Bad bad images in my head. When Mer gets back I will take her to have her head examined. Look, just keep up the lies. It is only three months, right? Stick to her like glue."_

_"How am I going to do that at work? I am with the She-Shepherd."_

_"What does she think about this?"_

_"They are getting divorced so I…"_

_"WHAT?"_

_"Can you not screech in my ear?"_

_"They are getting divorced? He is single? As in available? This is bad Alex. Really bad."_

_"Didn't I say that already?"_

_"Go ahead with your plan, but step it up."_

_"How?"_

_"You two are going to have to get engaged."_

_"-"_

_"Alex?…Alex?"_

_"Engaged? As in marriage?" He exclaimed._

_"No dumbass…engaged, as in put a ring on her finger that tells him that she is getting married. I don't expect you to actually marry her. That would be gross…and wrong on so many levels."_

_"Oh thank god…you really had be worried there." He sighed in relief._

_"I will find a ring and send it to you. Just be attentive every time you see her. Stare him down if he gets too close to her. You were a wrestler…you can take him in a fight. Take one for the home team Alex. I am counting on you not to fuck this up. He can't get to her again."_

_"Don't worry Yang. I got this."_

_"Make sure you do." He heard a click and then she was gone._

"Hey. Are you okay Alex?" Meredith said, shaking him out of his reverie.

"What? Oh yeah, how are you?"

"I have been better. Thank you…you know…for last night."

"No problem. Mer, we…" He stopped, thinking if he should tell her about the 'engagement' or not. He didn't want her to freak. Better to ease her into it…slowly.

"Yeah?"

"We need to get our stories straight, you know how we started dating, if we are serious."

"Oh…well, we started dating two and a half years ago, because three years…makes me a whore seeing as he left me three years ago. I had to have time for mourning."

"You are still mourning." He pointed filled her eyes and he instantly regretted saying that."Mer, I'm sorry. That was really inconsiderate."

"No, you are right. But we are talking about our fictional relationship. Where were we? Oh yeah…we became friends first and then it turned into something else and then we started dating and now we are living together. There is really no need for embellishment. Less chance of messing up that way."

"Good plan…keep it simple. Got it. Are we planning to…move forward?"

"Sorry?"

"You know, are we getting engaged or…marriage?" He said, gulping on the last word.

"Oh god no!"

"Well let's just say that we will need to step up our game…do I ask you to marry me? We aren't going to get married, but do we make him think it?"

"If it comes to that…then maybe." She looked pained by the idea.

"Okay."

"Okay."

They stared at each other for a few moments…uncomfortably.

"We should go." Meredith said.

"Yeah, we don't want to be late."

They both rushed out the door and hurried to the hospital. This plan was going to work…it had too.


End file.
